Desenvolvimento inicial de genótipos de café (Coffea arabica L.) no município de Areia – PB.

Abstract

The cultivation of coffee is an important activity of the agricultural sector, presenting important functions for the Brazilian economic and social development. The quality of the coffee depends on the inherent conditions of the place of cultivation, due to which, genotypes adapted to different edaphoclimatic conditions, are being developed for several regions of Brazil. In this sense, the present work aimed to evaluate the initial adaptation of 20 coffee genotypes (Coffea arabica L.) in the city of Areia - PB. The work was carried out in the nursery of the Plant Ecology Laboratory, located in the Department of Phytotechnology and Environmental Sciences, at the Center of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Paraíba. Twenty genotypes from the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais were used. Seeding was carried out one centimeter deep in black polyethylene bags containing the substrate mentioned above. After 120 days at sowing, the percentage of germination was evaluated and after 180 days at sowing the height, the diameter of the lap and the number of pairs of leaves of the seedlings were evaluated. The design was completely randomized, containing 20 treatments, with 22 replicates. For the germination characteristic, ten groups were formed, the first consisting of T23 II and Campos Altos Catiguá Amarelo MS, both with 100% germination; for the diameter characteristic, there were two groups, in which the first one ranged from 2.86 mm (T15 I) to 2.158 mm (T23 II) and the second ranged from 2.375 mm (T5 II) to 1.974 mm (T3 I); the highest mean height was obtained in the variety T15 I (18.98 cm). Among the studied genotypes, it is worth mentioning Campos Altos Catinguá Amarelo MS for presenting superiority in all studied characteristics, besides the T23 II genotype, which presented superiority in the germination percentage, neck diameter and number of leaf pairs, and the T15 genotype. I who presented superiority in the variables neck diameter, number of leaf pairs and height. The T1 I and T4 I genotypes presented inferiority in all evaluated characteristics. However, further studies should be carried out, including field tests, so that the most promising genotypes for planting in the municipality of Areia - PB can be established.